For C and her Savior, who sent her a duck. …He gave them words of hope. He said, “Be strong. Be brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. The king of Assyria has a huge army with him. But there’s a greater power with us than there is with him. The only thing he has is human strength. But the Lord our God is with us. He will help us. He’ll fight our battles.” 2… Read More
Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. Genesis 12:9 The film Out of Africa is based on the autobiography of Karen Blixen, a tenacious Danish woman who lived at the turn of the twentieth century in Kenya. While her husband commanded troops on the front during the First World War, local British authorities urged Blixen to abandon her coffee farm and flee to safety with all other women and children in the… Read More
For the K family, with love. His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper.” Exodus 18:3 God is my helper, and yours. He helps us in everything we do. About this time, Abimelech came…to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. Genesis 21:22 We can count on God to help us in the places of oppression and… Read More
-for my son …keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 I realized something was different by the time he was eighteen months old. Look in my eyes, sweetie. My little one would look anywhere but into my eyes. Day after day, I implored him, gently taking his sweet face in my hands and turning it to mine. Look at Mommy. Listen to my words. Something was interfering… Read More
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart… Psalm 15:1-2 I was hiding behind the chair the cat liked to sleep in. My grandmother’s cat was mean, and I dared not get too close. She would rather scratch your eyes out than look at you, my grandmother loved to say. And it was… Read More
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6 Parenting teens is both inspiring and intimidating. Some say that parents cannot be friends with their teenage children. I would argue that as parents, we have the potential to be the closest friends our teens have. A true friend is willing to wound, although kissing would be so much easier. As a parent, there come times in my… Read More
The Lord bless you and protect you; the Lord make his face (pāneh) to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance (pāneh) upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 The Hebrew word pāneh is the word for face and countenance. Its meaning includes appearance, presence, to be shown honor, to be under direction, to be under blessing, to be under supervision, watched, favored, to be given audience. One small… Read More
Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you. Genesis 13:14-17 Visionaries are… Read More
I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:28. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth… Read More
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10 Our secretary thought it was a joke. Head down, busy with work, she was annoyed with the interruption when a man entered the office demanding everyone’s attention and announced with a flourish the arrival of a gentleman just outside the door. When no one responded,… Read More